novelraw Chapter 725 - 725 725 Dark Road
Chapter 725 - 725 725 Dark Road
725: Chapter 725: Dark Road 725: Chapter 725: Dark Road Deep in the night, at a time when all is silent, a luxury car travels along a road threading its way through a forest.
Inside are a cheerful couple, Zhang Yang and Yang Xinran, chatting and laughing.
There isn’t a single pedestrian on the road, nor any signs of habitation nearby.
Only woods on both sides of the road, with no streetlights to pierce the encompassing darkness, and the occasional strange birdcalls adding to the eerie atmosphere.
Yang Xinran glanced out of the window and made a remark, “The scenery looked wonderful during the day, with sunlight peeking through the leaves—quite a sight!
But come nightfall, it all becomes a bit scary.
I wouldn’t dare walk down this road alone at night.”
Zhang Yang answered, “This place is close to a primeval forest, filled with towering ancient trees.
Rumor has it, wild tribes still roam around in there, so naturally, no one lives around here anymore.
They hadn’t planned to build a road through here, but to make commuting between two towns easier, this road was constructed.
Otherwise, it would take a two-day detour, which would be very time-consuming.”
“Really?” Yang Xinran somehow felt spooked.
What Zhang Yang said reminded her of one night in the library.
It was a similar kind of darkness, where anything could just pop out of nowhere.
The very thought of it was terrifying.
Yang Xinran posed another question, “What if a wild man suddenly jumped out at us?”
“It’s alright.
Generally, this is the edge of the primeval forest; the tribespeople wouldn’t come this far.
Although there have occasionally been sightings, we’re not even sure if those are true.” Zhang Yang noticed Yang Xinran’s nervous expression, and comforted her, “Relax.
Even if we encountered tribespeople, they would turn tail and flee into the woods at the sight of us.
Besides, we’re in a car— we can always get away faster than they could catch up.
We’re safe.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Xinran also thought the same, which brought her a lot of reassurance.
Suddenly, their car broke down midway, casting them into perplexity.
Zhang Yang found this baffling, “Why would the car just stop like that?
This is very odd.”
“Indeed, and the fact that it broke down at this particular location,” Yang Xinran looked out of the window only to see pitch blackness all around.
Zhang Yang tried several times, but his attempts to start the car were in vain.
Having no other choice, he decided to go out and inspect the car.
“It’s really dark outside, you shouldn’t step out,” Yang Xinran tried to dissuade him, but all Zhang Yang did was chuckle, “Don’t worry, I’ll switch on the high beam.
If by chance there are any tribespeople out there, they’ll surely keep their distance from something this bright.” Saying that, Zhang Yang stepped out of the car.
Seeing that she couldn’t change his mind, Yang Xinran hastily checked if the car doors were locked and prayed a thousand times for their safety.
Zhang Yang stepped out and inspected the vehicle, but couldn’t find anything wrong.
He then returned to the car and called for roadside assistance.
The reply he received was that due to the remote location of their car, it would take up to five hours for the rescue team to arrive, and they hoped Zhang Yang and Yang Xinran could patiently wait.
They also advised them to stay in the vehicle as it was safer.
Zhang Yang praised the rescue service’s attitude but found it strange— this was the first time he’d been so fervently warned not to get out of the car for his own safety.
Suddenly, Yang Xinran saw some lights up ahead and pointed them out to Zhang Yang .
“That’s strange; this area is supposed to be uninhabited.
Where are the lights coming from?” Zhang Yang wondered as he noticed an entire row of lights flickering in the distance.
Unable to resist their curiosity, Zhang Yang suggested going to have a look.
Yang Xinran, hesitant, still protested, sticking to the roadside assistance’s advice of not leaving the car.
“What’s there to be afraid of?
The lights indicate there are a lot of people.
I’ve heard that groups of adventurers like coming here.
Maybe those lights belong to their campsites,” Zhang Yang reasoned.
Upon hearing this, Yang Xinran hesitated more.
“I’ll go have a look while you stay in the car,” Zhang Yang suggested as he stepped out of the car.
Yang Xinran tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Not wanting to stay in the car alone, and afraid, she decided to follow Zhang Yang.
Perhaps he was right; there was nothing to fear.
Heading towards those lights, they drew closer and noticed there were indeed a lot of lights, but they weren’t blinding— they were as dim as torch flames.
As Zhang Yang and Yang Xinran moved closer, they discovered a small path detouring from the main road, from where the lights seemed to originate.
With the help of these dim lights, they could make out silhouettes of houses.
Zhang Yang was puzzled, “This place is supposed to be uninhabited.
How can there be houses here?
Was I wrong?”
Yang Xinran also found it strange.
They could see quite a few houses, contrary to what she had read on the internet.
Now that they saw houses and lights, they figured there had to be people living there, so Zhang Yang and Yang Xinran ventured further into the path, alert as they were venturing into unknown territory.
After walking about a hundred meters, they found themselves in an ancient town nestled in the forest.
Every household had a lantern hanging outside, and people were moving about on the town streets.
“Who’d have thought there’d be an ancient town here?” Zhang Yang was astounded at the unexpected discovery right where their car had broken down.
It seemed as though fate had somewhere in mind for them after all.
Yang Xinran was initially surprised, then her brows furrowed as she noticed the townspeople’s attire was very outdated and out of place with modern society.
She had visited ancient towns before, where locals usually dressed in modern clothing.
Zhang Yang explained that perhaps being close to the primeval forest, the place was quite primitive and undeveloped, even lacking electricity, hence the use of lanterns and candles for illumination.
An elderly man, who looked kind, approached them and asked, “You’re not from around here, right?
Is it that your car broke down?”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yang was taken aback and asked, “How did you know, sir?”
The elderly man responded, “Because we’ve had people like you come to our town in the past— their cars also broke down, and they happened to stop by for a while.”
Yang Xinran found that quite reasonable; travelers would usually drive straight past and seldom stop, remaining unaware of this path if not for the lights.
Seeing the amiable old man, Zhang Yang and Yang Xinran let their guards down.
With the long wait until the rescue car would finally arrive around dawn, alongside the settling chill of the night, spending the night in the car didn’t seem like the best idea.
So Zhang Yang inquired if they could stay for the night.
To their surprise, the old man agreed right away, mentioning that the local people were very hospitable and even waived any accommodation charges.
This endearing interaction with the old man made Zhang Yang and Yang Xinran’s view of him and this ancient town even brighter, feeling fortunate for having encountered such a kind soul on their journey.